Page 58 of Movers and Shakers

My hands played with my hair. “You’re right. And if it were only me I was singing for, then I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“But itisonly you.”

“Not where the fans are concerned.”

“The loud ones, maybe. But plenty would love to hear this.”

“So,what,I just tell them I fell for someone else? While Blaze was saying all these great things about me?”

“Great things about whathedid for you.”

She wasn’t wrong, but disappointing anyone, especially those who had given me all of this, made my throat close.

But then I thought about how I felt at that damn premiere, how miserable I’d been.

“You’re conflicted,” she said, “and you have a right to be. But the music isyours.”

And Barry’s. What would he do if he were here?

A tiny spark of defiance grew within me.

“I’m . . . I’m not going to change some of them. I’ll fight harder for them.”

“Yes,” Sasha said. “That’s the right call. And I’ll fight for them too. Whether Mia likes it or not, I know more about music than her.”

I grabbed my bag and stood, determination filling me. “I’m going to go home and decide what I’m keeping. I’ll face Mia tomorrow.”

“Good idea. I’m proud of you.”

Anxiety rose in my stomach and I didn’t feel proud at all.

Just terrified.

But I knew I was doing the right thing. Worst case, we could say Blaze and I had gone on a vacation in Nashville. But I wouldn’t change the heart of it. Even if this wasn’t a “number-one hit” according to Mia, this wasmywork.

I said my goodbyes and walked out to the car. When I got in, my shoulders slumped and I felt like Rose Hill, not Lila.

“You okay?” Juno asked.

“I’m fine,” I said.

“You don’t look fine.”

“You were at the studio when I recorded my new album. What did you think?”

“I’m far from a music expert.”

“I don’t need an expert, just someone who listened to it.”

“Please don’t take offense to this, but I think you mass-produced hits before you went to Nashville. And sure, it worked, but it wasn’t like the stuff you wrote a long time ago when youfirst started. Your best work is when you’re genuine, especially your softer stuff, and lately, you haven’t been making that.”

“Until I worked with Barry.”

“Exactly. I don’t mean to make you feel bad about your last albums, but—‍”

“You didn’t. You just made me feel better about what I’m about to do.”

When we got home, Juno pulled into the garage. She asked if I wanted dinner, but I was ready to pore over the album and devise the perfect plan to win over Mia. I had loads of ideas, ones to prove to her that this could begood.

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